


Rabbit Doubt Secret Santa 2017

by presidentbees



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Secret Santa, These aren't my original characters, character interactions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 09:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13163838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/presidentbees/pseuds/presidentbees
Summary: pieces of short, fluff fiction for the first ever Rabbit Doubt Secret Santa gift exchange.





	Rabbit Doubt Secret Santa 2017

Ronnie shivered, trying to scoot closer to the fire that Theron had built. Outside, the snow was beginning to pile up higher, and it didn’t show any signs of stopping. 

“Ya still cold?” Theron asked, looking over. 

“Yeah.” Ronnie blew into their hands, trying to warm their fingertips. “Not used to it being this cold.”

“Shouldn’t’ve been wanderin’ ‘round the woods at night then.” 

Ronnie glared at Theron. If they had known that Theron was going to judge them like this, then they would have rathered stayed out in the snow and frozen. They could have tried to sneak back into the inn and hole in their room, but that would mean passing through the first floor and possibly running into Silva who would want to sit and talk. 

Theron stood up, dropping another log into the fire and sending sparks flying. Looking over, he watched as Ronnie used their free hand to rub at their eyes. The firelight was still dim enough that their face was hidden from view. 

“Careful, wood’s smokey. Gets in your eyes n’ stings.” 

“It’s not that. I’m just tired,” Ronnie mumbled. “It’s been a—” 

They broke off, their throat closing up uncomfortably. How were they supposed to talk about everything that had happened over the past months since arriving — finding themself in an unfamiliar place and being made to fight in a war to protect a town they weren’t from. It wasn’t something that could be put into words, or wanted to talk about at the moment. 

Theron looked up from the fire. The flames were roaring now, and the light cast strange shadows across both of their faces. Ronnie’s hood still covered most of their face, and with one hand, they toyed with the golden clasp of their cloak. 

“It’s just been a bad day.”

 

* * *

 

Tea couldn’t fix everything, but it made living in an in inn with other people much more bearable. Ronnie took the kettle off of the stove eye, moving it to the side while they picked out a mug from the cabinet.

It was early in the morning, and the inn was mostly empty. Agnes was sitting at one of the tables with a quilt wrapped around her shoulders. Her head was propped up in one hand as she sat staring into space, deep in thought — Ronnie wondered if she had gone upstairs to sleep, or if she’d been there all night. 

“Do you want a cup of tea?” Ronnie asked, already getting out a second cup. 

Agnes jolted out of her thought. The dark circles under her eyes were looking more pronounced than usual, and it took her a minute to focus on Ronnie’s face. “W-what?” 

Ronnie motioned to the mugs that they’d set out. “I’m making tea and figured you would want some. Do you like milk or sugar in yours?” 

“N-no, I like m-mine plain.” 

Nodding, Ronnie went ahead and poured hot water into both of their cups, adding in the teabags and walking over to the booth where Agnes was sitting. There was a small, untouched plate of poppy seed cake still sitting in front of her; leftovers from her and Kei’s baking session the night before. 

“A healthy breakfast,” Ronnie joked, sliding Agnes’ cup toward her. 

She didn’t respond to their joke, just slowly taking the tea in her hands. “What k-kind of tea is it?” 

“Ginger.” 

Agnes hummed softly, bringing the cup close to her face. “S-smells nice.” 

The two of them sat in silence, Ronnie carefully picking at the seed roll between sips of tea. Anges went back to staring out the window, her lips pressed against the warm mug as she watched the snow continue to come down outside. Her expression was a mix of worry and confusion,

“Are you feeling okay?” Ronnie asked hesitantly. 

Agnes didn’t say anything for a minute. Outside, the snow had turned the yard into a blank expanse that was only broken by the line of trees in the distance. Fat flakes were still drifting down from the sky, everything tinted a slight pink from the early morning sunrise. 

“Y-yeah,” she said finally. “J-just wondering what to get people f-for holiday gifts.” 

Ronnie didn’t completely trust her answer, but they knew the feeling of not wanting to talk about their feelings to somebody else. Instead of prying, they just scooted the poppy seed cake a little closer. Tea and food couldn’t solve problems, but they definitely helped.

 

* * *

 

Sitting at the kitchen bar, Ronnie sipped at a cup of tea as they watched Kei place the final plate of pastries in front of them. Some of them were recognizable as things that Kei had made before — lemon crepes, miniature dainishes, mont blanc tarts — and Ronnie’s mouth watered; it all smelled amazing

“Try them out.” Kei said eagerly, pushing the plate of danishes a little closer. “I haven’t gotten to make a lot of pastries while I’ve been here, so don’t hold back with the critiques. Don’t break my heart, but let me know what you think.” 

“None of these have chocolate in them, right?” Ronnie reached over the danishes, going for the plate of what looked like fried dough balls, which had been dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. 

“Completely chocolate free,” Kei said, putting one hand over his heart. “I remember the Oreo incident.” 

The mention of Oreos was enough to make Ronnie’s stomach turn. They remembered spending the day nauseous, sipping chamomile tea and trying to keep regular foods down until they felt better again. As delicious as the Oreos had been, they wouldn’t be doing that again. 

Ronnie blept, giving the dough ball an experimental lick. It was sweeter than they were expecting, with a sweet, honey glaze covering the pastries that made them stick to Ronnie’s fingers as they tried to eat. 

“This is good — really good.” Ronnie licked their fingers before reaching for another dough ball. “What are these called?” 

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Kei said, picking up a dough ball and popping it into his mouth. “I found it in a cookbook and I decided to give it a try.” 

Ronnie made an appreciative noise. “It’s good. I thought that you would fill them up with something, but they’re still delicious. ” 

“Really? You don’t think that they’re too dry or anything? Too bland? Should I have filled them with something?” 

“Mm no. They’re good they way they are,” Ronnie paused, thinking while they licked the last bit of honey from their thumb. “They taste like Hiro’s churros, except less fancy.” 

Kei looked genuinely wounded for a moment, and Ronnie gave them a small, comforting smile. “I’m joking — they’re really good. You should make them more often.”

 

* * *

 

“What do you think of this one?” Preston asked, holding out another candle for Ronnie to smell. “I was thinking of it as a gift for Silva, but I don’t know what ‘Velvet Amber Dreams’ is supposed to be and I don’t want to pick out the wrong one.” 

“For Silva? Why?” Ronnie raised an eyebrow. 

Preston shrugged. “They’re always doing so much for us, so I thought it would be nice to return the favor and get them a gift. I don’t know exactly what they’d like, but I figured that a candle would be pretty safe.” 

They couldn’t argue with Preston’s logic — it was a good idea, as far as gifts went. Taking the candle from Preston, Ronnie removed the glass lid and was immediately assaulted with the smell of sandalwood, amber, and vanilla. It was sickly sweet, which contrasted with the weird, earthy smells. 

Ronnie jerked their head back, rubbing at their nose as they handed the candle back. “If you want to have the inn smell like a barn and a bakery, it’s perfect.” 

“Huh, okay then,” Preston said. “That’s good. Do you think they’ll like it?” 

“Definitely not.” 

Looking at the small shelf of candles, Ronnie considered the different selection. Most of them had strange, eye catching names like ‘Misty Mountains’ or ‘Fresh Summer Oats’, which were supposed to entice people into smelling them. A few of them looked more normal though, and Ronnie picked up a yellow candle that was labeled as ‘Honey Blossom’. 

Ronnie gave it an experimental sniff, then passed it over to Preston, nodding in approval. “Here, they’ll like this one since it’s floral. Silva seem like they would enjoy a candle that smells like flowers.” 

Preston turned the jar over in his hands, smiling. “Nice, I’ll say that it’s from the two of us.”

 

* * *

 

The field was covered with a heavy layer of snow, and Ronnie had to pick up their legs in order to clear the snow drifts. Kei was next to the llama pens, chatting idly with one of the saddled llamas. Kei looked positively pleased with himself, bundled up in several layers and feeding sweet potato cubes to the llama. 

“Do llamas like sweet potatoes?” Ronnie asked, coming up beside them both. 

Kei ruffled the llama’s wool, making kissy noises. “Mmm yes, Carl does. Don’t you, Carl? Yes.” 

Carl sneezed, shaking his head and clearing off the snow that had collected there. He chewed contently on the sweet potatoes, not seeming to care about whatever Kei was saying. 

“Carl’s a real sweetie though,” Kei continued, brushing snow off of Carl’s saddle. “He should be easy to learn how to ride on and— what are you doing?” 

Ronnie was tying up their hair, tucking it underneath their borrowed hat. “The last time I was around llamas, they tried to eat my hair, remember? I’d rather be safe than have that happen again.” 

Kei laughed. “Sure, but once you start riding, know that you’re not going to be able to stop and fix your hair if it gets too loose.” 

Carl trotted over, nuzzling Ronnie’s hat and giving the pom-pom ball on top an experimental nibble. Ronnie frowned, giving Kei a look as he gently tugged Ronnie’s hat out of the llama’s mouth. “Why don’t they do this with you?”

“Because I’m the Llama King — I have a natural authority over llamas. Now go ahead and get on.”

Hooking one leg into a stirrup, Ronnie started to pull themself up. Kei kept a tight hold on Carl’s reins until they were fully situated in the saddle. 

“Great job — now hold onto the saddle and don’t touch his neck. Carl’s just like a horse, except he’ll spit if he’s angry with you.”

“I thought you said he was nice?” Ronnie said, starting to get nervous. 

“Oh yeah, he’s a complete butterball, but he’ll spit if he smells your fear,” Kei joked, starting to walk around the pen and guiding Carl along. “Just act calm and everything will be fine — you’re good at that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ronnie belongs to Stellar ([tumblr](http://stellartoons.tumblr.com) // [DA](https://stellartune.deviantart.com/) // [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Stellartoons)), and I had a really fun time writing for them! The rest of the characters are an assortment of OC’s from other people -- Silva and Kei belong to Shib ([DA](https://shibishib.deviantart.com/) // [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Sheepypann)), Preston and Theron belong to Vik ([DA](https://speedydoggo.deviantart.com/) // [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SpeedyDoggo)), Agnes belongs to Erin ([DA](https://a-bolognese-sandwich.deviantart.com/)), and Carl the llama is just a precious NPC. 
> 
> But I had a lot of fun with this! Thank you to [Shib](https://shibishib.deviantart.com/) and [Kirr](https://kirrw.deviantart.com/) for putting on this event! I’ve had a great time being a part of y’all’s sessions and I can’t wait to see what y’all guide Memento Mori into for 2018. 


End file.
